Getting my smear test results

I feel like I had a major change in my attitude towards cervical smear testing thanks to this project. All of a sudden, having a smear test and yes, even getting the results, has stopped being quite so scary. I’ve done so much research, that I finally feel like if I got a negative result, at least I know what I’m getting into. And having spoken to lots of women that have been through the process of treatment for abnormal cells, and have come out the other side feeling fine, that just makes everything less frightening.

I think so many of us feel like a smear test is a cancer test. It’s not. We feel that if we get a result that says we have abnormal cells, or a recall for a test, then it’s the start of the end of our world. The stats say that it’s almost certainly not.

Cervical cancer is rare in the screening programme and only represents 2 in 10,000 women screened. Finding out more about what’s involved, what the results mean, and, yes, what a colposcopy is (I admit it… I didn’t know!) I feel better.
So I was feeling pretty positive about whatever happened once I opened that envelope…. But, the results are in…

Good news.

and I got the all-clear! So that’s that for another three years.

But, I’m so glad that I did this; booked the test, written this blog, talked to so many other women about it and found out so much. I really hope that this has been useful and that it persuades every woman who’s read this to go and get tested regularly, and to pass this on to her friends, co-workers and female family members. After all, and at the risk of repeating myself, even though it sounds like a scary deal, the cervical smear test isn’t a cancer test. It’s testing for potentially pre-cancerous cells. So basically putting as many safeguards in as possible, to keep you safe and healthy for as long as possible. And isn’t that what we all want?

So.. my final thoughts? Get informed, get tested, stay healthy and thanks for all your brilliant comments…